HELLO, I AM NEW TO THIS FORUM. I AM ABOUT TO ADD A NEW MEMBER TO MY FAMILY, IM GETING A BLUE PIT FROM A BREEDER HERE IN FLORDIA. I SHOULD BE ABLE TO TAKE HIM HOME IN NOVEMBER. I WANTED TO FIND A GOOD PIT BULL OREINTED FORUM TO KEEP ME ON TRACK IN THE UPS AND DOWNS OF MY DOGS LIFE. IF ANYONE CAN TELL ME WHEN A GOOD TIME TO HAVE MY DOGS EARS CLIPPED I WOULD GREATLY APPREICATE IT.

edited to add: Ive had three dogs with cropped ears in my life. None were done any where near 6 weeks. At that age the dogs are still socializing with their littermates and taking them away to have something like that done would be bad in my opinion. It really isnt necessary though as I myself have rethought the crop issue. It would save you a good bit of money just not to do it. Honestly, my dogs never seemed to experience any pain either though. Although as stated below alot of people will assume they are aggressive with cropped ears. Do check out vets and ensure they know how to crop Pit Bulls ears and ask to see if maybe they have references and pictures. Some vets are not very well practiced in this procedure. You dont want a hack job.

Last edited by gypsydog on Sun Aug 22, 2004 10:03 pm, edited 1 time in total.

The procedure should be done as early as possible: 6 weeks of age in the larger breeds and not past 9 weeks in the smaller ones. In a dog older than 16 weeks there is not only more pain but also more pain memory. Ear cartilage is for the most part set permanently by 4 months of age, so there is little latitude for bracing and training the cut ear to stand after surgery.

be sure to do lots of resurch before getting it done. make sure you know whos doing it and see the job that they do before you get yours done. i find that a lot of people fear dogs with cliped ears though so prepare for that.

I go both ways with cropping. Basically for me, it depends on A)whether or not I will be showing the dog and B) what those ears would be shaped like if left natural.

I prefer natural as long as the ears grow in a sane manner, I like rose ears, half prick, and half rose. I would crop them if they hung like labs ears, or were to big. I own ADBA dogs currently, and allthough cropping is not required for a show pit, they tend to win over natural ears. I would rather have nice looking natural ears than nice looking cropped ears. Cropped ears are a double edged sword-- in the show ring your dog would look more alert, more powerfull. On the street your dog would most likely be perceived as dangerous, and scary.

I live in Florida too, and all the vets in my area do it right at 16 weeks. They won't do it sooner for fear of negative effects of anesthetics, and they won't do it later for fear of the cartiulege not setting right. You can expect to pay anywhere from $250-$800 for an ear crop. In this case more expense does not mean better quality, shop around, make sur they have experience cropping Pit Bull ears, and bring several pictures of the type of crop you want.